Rob Collins’s guide to automobile insurance in Delaware
By Robert C. Collins, II As a Delaware personal injury lawyer focusing on car accident injury cases, I deal a lot (a lot!) with automobile insurance coverage issues. I often wish that my clients had thought more about their insurance coverage before they got into their accidents. It seems to me that my clients often need legal help to fix problems that could have been avoided if they only had carried the right types and amounts of insurance from the start. If you are buying insurance on a new vehicle, switching insurance, or renewing an...
read moreDelaware Supreme Court Strikes Down 45-day UR Appeal Time in Workers’ Compensation Cases
The Delaware Supreme Court Thursday struck down Department of Labor Regulation 5.5.1′s 45-day appeal time for UR denials in worker’s compensation cases. In Delaware workers’ compensation cases, the employer’s insurance carrier may request a “Utilization Review” or “UR” to evaluate treatment rendered in connection with work-related injuries. If the UR decision denies the treatment, then the claimant or the medical provider has a right to appeal by filing a Petition for Additional Compensation Due with the Industrial...
read moreIf I was injured in a motorcycle accident while not wearing a helmet, do I still have a case?
Answer: The short answer is Yes, but you may have given the insurance company a valid defense. Here’s why: To receive a settlement or award of compensation after an accident in Delaware, you have to prove that the Defendant was negligent and that the Defendant’s negligence caused your injuries. The defense can deny or fight the claim by alleging that your own negligence caused the injuries. If the jury finds that you were more at fault than the defendant, then you will lose. But if the jury decides you were less at fault or equally at...
read moreWhat should I do if I am injured in a car accident in Delaware that wasn’t my fault?
Being in an auto accident is stressful, especially if you were injured as a result of someone else’s careless or negligent conduct. As if that were not bad enough, after an accident there are often numerous forms to complete for the insurance companies, multiple adjusters each with different roles, insurance company phone calls that seem to start as soon as you get home after the accident, and a lot more. You may not have a personal injury attorney in the car with you at the time of the accident, and you may not be able to get immediate...
read moreScreening for Insurance Claims in Personal Injury Cases – Eleven Questions to Ask in Every Case
One of the biggest things that a Delaware personal injury lawyer can do to help his or her client after a serious injury is to thoroughly screen for claims and insurance benefits that may apply. Here are eleven questions I ask to identify possible avenues of financial compensation for my client. If you are a Delaware attorney, please feel free to use this as a screening tool to identify potential sources of recovery for your clients: 1. Is there a liability claim? Did someone act negligently to cause the injury, and is there liability...
read moreWhat is the coming and going rule in Delaware workers’ compensation cases?
Question: I was driving to work when a deer ran out in front of me and I ran off the road and was injured in a car accident. Is it possible to make a claim for workers’ compensation benefits? Answer: Before I answer this question, first I would note that personal injury protection or PIP through your own auto policy should apply for your medical bills and lost wages up to the policy limit within the two year period after the car accident. To answer the question directly, workers’ compensation benefits may apply to your car...
read moreTWO NASTY, HIDDEN TRICKS PULLED BY MOTORCYCLE INSURANCE COMPANIES – CHECK YOUR POLICY NOW, BEFORE YOU NEED IT FOR YOUR DELAWARE MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT!
There are two very nasty surprises that our clients often discover after a serious Delaware motorcycle accident. When they buy their motorcycle insurance, most people are interested in getting coverage at the lowest cost. They don’t stop to think about the exclusions and problems that will arise with low-cost insurance when they actually need it after a serious accident. There are two big problems that we often see after a motorcycle accident with injuries. If you know what these two problems are, you will be able to speak with...
read moreWhat insurance benefits are available after an on-the-job injury through a Delaware workers’ compensation claim?
If you have had an on-the-job injury, your workers’ compensation insurance through your employer should apply to you. Workers compensation insurance in Delaware provides a number of different types of important benefits. The first benefit available under workers’ compensation insurance is coverage for your lost wages. This type of coverage is called total disability or indemnity. Total disability benefits are paid at a rate of two-thirds your average weekly wage. Also available under workers’ compensation insurance is payments or...
read moreWhat is uninsured motorist coverage and how does it apply to my car accident personal injury case?
Uninsured motorist coverage or UM is a type of insurance that people buy as part of their automobile insurance policy. The basic concept of uninsured motorist coverage is this: If you are hit due to the negligence of an uninsured driver, you are not going to sue that uninsured driver for your injuries. There would not be much point to doing that. The uninsured driver has no insurance to pay you a settlement or an award of damages after trial. If the uninsured motorist can’t afford to pay for their insurance premium, it is...
read moreSuperior Court denies insurance coverage after auto accident because litigant is not a household member
What does Grandpa’s detached garage have to do with how much insurance is available to Grandson’s car accident? After a serious car accident, one of the things a qualified and knowledgeable Delaware personal injury lawyer will do is search for all available insurance coverage. Often, other insurance policies will provide coverage, even if they were not purchased to specifically cover the accident vehicle. An attorney will look at the injury victims’ family members’ policies. Often, these policies apply where the policy...
read moreSUPREME COURT REINFORCES INDIVIDUALS’ RIGHTS DURING TRAFFIC STOPS IN STATE V. ABEL
By Zachary A. George, Esq. In its recent decision in State v. Abel, the Delaware Supreme Court reinforced at least one right to which all individuals are entitled during a traffic stop: the right not to be “patted down” for weapons in consideration of officer safety in the absence of a reasonable, articulable suspicion that the individual is armed and dangerous. On June 4, 2011, a Delaware State Police officer stopped a member of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang on Interstate 95 for speeding. The driver was identified as a member of...
read moreMaybe Phone In Hand Campaign isn’t so bad after all
State of Delaware making progress in preventing distracted driving car accidents. DelawareOnline reported today that nearly 2,000 motorists have been cited for distracted driving over the last two weeks. The distracted driving enforcement campaign focused on motorists distracted by handheld cell phones. Some would say this is just another source of revenue for the State and municipal police agencies. Some would argue that people ought to be able to have one hand on the phone and one hand on the wheel (this is America after all). I,...
read moreCareless or Inattentive Driving in Delaware
If you were charged with Careless Driving or Inattentive Driving, the following is the text of the law that applies in your case: § 4176. Careless or inattentive driving. (a) Whoever operates a vehicle in a careless or imprudent manner, or without due regard for road, weather and traffic conditions then existing, shall be guilty of careless driving. (b) Whoever operates a vehicle and who fails to give full time and attention to the operation of the vehicle, or whoever fails to maintain a proper lookout while operating the vehicle, shall be...
read moreAggressive Driving in Delaware
The following is the text of 21 Del.C. Section 4175A, the Delaware Aggressive Driving law: (a) No person shall drive any vehicle in an aggressive manner, as defined by this section, and such offense shall be known as aggressive driving. (b) For purposes of this section, “aggressive manner” shall mean that an individual engages in continuous conduct which violates 3 or more of the following sections: (1) Section 4107 of this title, relating to obedience to traffic-control devices; (2) Section 4108 of this title, relating to traffic...
read moreFailure to stop at a stop sign? Failure to stop at a red light? Read the rules for traffic control devices.
§ 4107. Obedience to and required traffic-control devices. (a) The driver of any vehicle shall obey the instructions of any traffic-control device applicable thereto placed in accordance with this title, unless otherwise directed as authorized in § 4103 of this title, subject to the exceptions granted the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle in this title. (b) No provision of this chapter for which traffic-control devices are required shall be enforced against an alleged violator if at the time and place of the alleged violation an...
read moreDelaware Code contains an entire chapter dealing with failure to yield the right of way
The following appears in Title 21 Delaware Code, Chapter 41, Subchapter IV. § 4130. Vehicle obstructing traffic. No driver shall enter an intersection or a marked crosswalk or drive onto any railroad grade crossing unless there is sufficient space on the other side of the intersection, crosswalk or railroad grade crossing to accommodate the vehicle the driver is operating without obstructing the passage of other vehicles, pedestrians or railroad trains notwithstanding any traffic-control signal indication to proceed. 60 Del. Laws, c. 701, §...
read moreMost speeding ticket cases are charged under Title 21 Delaware Code, Section 4169
§ 4169. Specific speed limits; penalty. (a) Where no special hazard exists, the following speeds shall be lawful, but any speed in excess of such limits shall be absolute evidence that the speed is not reasonable or prudent and that it is unlawful: All types of vehicles: (1) 25 miles per hour in any business district; (2) 25 miles per hour in any residential district; (3) 20 miles per hour at all school zones where 20 mph regulatory signs are posted and state the time periods or conditions during which the speed limit is in effect; such...
read more“Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other” Crackdown a Tepid Response to a Deadly Distracted Driving Epidemic
The State of Delaware announced yesterday that there will be a crackdown in effect between November 7 and November 20, 2012 on distracted cell-phone using drivers. According to a press release by State of Delaware, the Delaware Office of Highway Safety has teamed up with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and 42 law enforcement agencies across the State to eliminate handheld cell phone use and texting by motorists traveling on Delaware’s roadways. “Our new dedicated enforcement...
read moreDelaware Supreme Court reverses DUI conviction where expired blood test kit was used and testing instructions were not followed
Delaware DUI Defender James M. “Matt” Stiller this week secured the reversal of a DUI conviction. The case was originally tried in the Superior Court where the trial judge allowed in blood test evidence indicating that the defendant had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.12. The arrest was made and the blood sample was drawn on September 2, 2009. The officer used a blood test kit that expired on August 31, 2009. The manufacturer’s specification sheet stated that an expired test kit should not be used. Further, the investigating officer...
read morePhysician expert testimony is not required to prove susceptibility to undue influence in a will contest
The Delaware Court of Chancery decided in a case of first impression this week that physician expert testimony is not required to establish undue influence in the context of a will contest. In the Matter of the Estate of Robert N. Gardner, CA No. 5506-MA (October 24, 2012). The Master in Chancery had issued a preliminary or draft report finding the defendant, Mr. Gardner’s caretaker, exerted undue influence in getting Mr. Gardner to rewrite his will, leaving his estate to her and cutting his own son out of his will. The caretaker took...
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